New Source Review and Title V Operating Permit Programs - Reconsideration of PSD Requirements for Particulate Matter Less Than 2.5 Micrometers (PM2.5) and Revision to Public Notice Requirements

Abstract:This proposed rulemaking is, in part, in response to the January 22, 2013, U.S.

Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decision that vacated the Significant Monitoring Concentration (SMC) and vacated and remanded two provisions in EPA's prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) regulations containing Significant Impact Levels (SILs) that were contained in the 2010 final rule promulgating fine particulate matter (PM2.5) increments, SMC, and SILs for PM2.5. This rulemaking address the court's decision remanding the PM2.5 SILs provisions in the PSD program. This rulemaking will address significant emission rates for precursors of PM2.5 in both the PSD and nonattainment new source review programs. This rulemaking will also re-propose for public comment two provisions of the rule that were not addressed in that court decision. The reason that EPA is re-proposing these two provisions is because the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) filed a Petition for Reconsideration to the Administrator regarding several provisions contained in the 2010 final rule. In response to the TCEQ petition, EPA agreed to reconsider, by re-proposing, the following three provisions: 1) The revised definition of "baseline area" that includes a new significance level for PM2.5, which is used for determining whether a particular attainment or unclassifiable area should be included in the baseline area for the PM2.5 increments; 2) The requirement that PM2.5 precursor emissions be included in the significant impact analysis; and 3) The level selected for the SMC for PM2.5. In each case, the TCEQ claimed that EPA did not provide an opportunity for public comment prior to issuing the provisions as part of the 2010 final rule. The third of these claims by TCEQ subsequently became moot by the court's vacatur of the PM2.5 SMC. This proposed rule will also amend the PSD, nonattainment new source review (NNSR) and Title V Operating Permit regulations to remove the current requirement in these regulations that a public notice be provided as a prominent advertisement, which historically has been interpreted as an advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the source seeking a PSD, NNSR or Title V permit is located. The proposed rule will include a public notice requirement that is media-neutral and includes among other mechanisms electronic noticing on permitting authority websites. The option of providing public notice via a traditional newspaper advertisement will still be available to air agencies. This portion of the rule revision is anticipated to result in significant annual savings in publication costs.

Environmental JusticeThis rulemaking involves a topic that is likely to be of particular interest to or have particular impact upon minority, low-income, tribal, and/or other vulnerable populations because:

This topic is likely to affect the availability of information to vulnerable populations.

Some of EPA's rulemakings undergo regulatory review (What's this?), as prescribed by Executive Order 12866 and coordinated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The following list describes which of this rulemaking's stages have completed review and published in the Federal Register, if any, and provides links to the review documents where available. Consult the "Timeline" section of this Web page for the dates of each review.

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